mummybakesdairyfree does the Great British Bake Off: Week 9 Patisserie

It’s the day of the Great British Bake Off 2016 final and here is my bake for last week’s Patisserie challenge. This week has definitely gotten away from me so it didn’t go quite the way I had planned. More of that later!

So the three bakes in the tent this week were palmiers for the signature, a savarin cake for the technical and fondant fancies for the showstopper. I’m much more a fan of savoury bakes and the thought of trying to make puff pastry from scratch seemed exciting! Palmiers it is!
This is where it started to go wrong. I’ve been ill for most of the week so by the time I had a chance to start experimenting, I realised my experiment would be the only one I would have time to make. I looked up some vegan recipes for rough puff pastry (I no longer had enough time to make full puff pastry, Paul and Mary would not be pleased!!). I came across a simple recipe on the BBC website which I would substitute the butter for dairy free spread. I wouldn’t recommend this. Dairy free spread is far too soft, the recipe calls for the butter to be hard yet at room temperature. I could tell already it wasn’t going to work! Mistake number one! I continued and compensated by adding more flour. My flour of choice was strong wholewheat plain flour. I remembered Paul suggesting strong flour in the tent so hoped this would be a winner. The use of wholewheat flour was of the intention of making it slightly healthier. Mistake number two. It was too heavy for the bake.
Even though I could tell the dough wasn’t right, I continued on. They did puff up in the oven but there was definitely no flakiness, lamination or lightness. Instead they turned out like little swirly rolls with a tasty filling. Yummy? Yes! A palmier? No! Oh well. Let’s add this to the list of recipes to redo… I’ve posted my recipe below in case you’d like to make my Definitely Not Palmiers.Ingredients
250g strong wholewheat plain flour

200g dairy free spread, I used Flora Freedom

150ml cold water
A large handful each of sun dried tomatoes (drained) and olivesMethod

1. In a large bowl, sift the flour. Break the spread into chunks and roughly rub into the flour.

2. Make a well and pour a third of the water. Mix in with a spoon until combined. Add the rest of the water if needed. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.

3. Remove from the fridge and place on a lightly floured board. Knead into a rectangle and roll out to a cm thick. Take one short end and fold across a third. Take the other short end and fold back over covering the pastry.

4. Turn the pastry 90 degrees (either clockwise or anti clockwise). Roll out again and repeat the folds. Wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge for 20 minutes

5. Whilst the pastry is chilling you can make the filling. Take a large handful each of sundried tomatoes and olives. Pat as much of the oil off as you can. Pop into a food processor or use a stick blender to blitz together until a rough paste is formed.

6. Remove the pastry from the fridge and unwrap. Place on baking paper and cut in half (you only need half for this recipe). Roll out to a large rectangle, 1 cm thick. Spread the filling, covering the pastry evenly.

7. Tightly roll the pastry from one short end until you reach halfway. Turn the paper round and roll from the other end until you meet the middle. Wrap in the paper and return to the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

8. Preheat the oven to 200c. Remove the pastry from the fridge, unwrap and using a serrated knife slice the pastry into 1cm thick palmiers. Spread out evenly onto the baking paper. Place the paper onto a tray and pop into the oven for 15-20minutes. The pastry should be golden the crisp when cooked. Allow to cool slightly before serving as they taste yummy warm!

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​Important bits

Dairy, egg, nut, soya free. Vegan

Makes two batches of pastry

Freezable

Total make time less than 2 hours

Remember you can vote for me in the Allergy Blog Awards UK. I’ve been nominated in the Parent Allergy Blog category and the Free From Recipes Category. Thank you!!!